Promise
by MidnightFantasies
Summary: After Mako and Korra have passed away, their daughter Kei has made it her goal to find and train the next Avatar in firebending. However, she must now be a guardian to the new Avatar to be able to train him. Can she train this new Avatar and help him with finding his other teachers?
1. Book One: Fire: The Vow

**AN: Okay, so I decided to write a fanfic about my OC, Kei, as a teenager. I am going to introduce a few more OC's too, and I finally came up with a villain for this, too. I was having trouble with that part so I was putting off writing this fic. I am going to try and make the chapters fairly long since I usually have requests for longer and more detailed chapters.**

**Enjoy. ^^**

**x**.**x.x**

The Southern Water Tribe looks the same as ever to the teenaged bender. She approached the village on her own pet polar bear dog, overlooking the cold tribe. She noticed a few differences since she had last visited the tribe with her parents a few year ago. The tribe had become more populated, steadily growing over the years. It seemed to be more developed, now looking more like a small town instead of looking like a rundown tribe like it used to.

She stopped her pet just outside the tribe, just before they reached a memorial statue of the girl's mother: Avatar Korra. She looked up at it and smiled. "Hi, mom… we miss you back in the city…"

The girl slowly proceeded into the tribe, pulling her polar bear dog by its reigns to have him follow her as she walked to the other end of the tribe. As she approached her grandparent's igloo, she pulled her hood from her head, letting her dark brown hair fall past her shoulders. Though she had been born in the southern water tribe, she did not really look like someone who would come from their at all. She looked a lot like her father than her mother, though she did have the same hair color as her, but that was it.

She looked completely different than she had when she and her parents had last came to visit her grandparents. She was only ten at the time, and now she was eighteen. The young bender was all grown up. When her grandfather had opened the door to her, it took him a few moments to recognize her, but he soon allowed his granddaughter to enter seeing as there was a snow storm coming soon.

Senna had been sweeping the cabin, but she stopped her work once her eyes fell onto her granddaughter. She leaned the broom against the stone wall and walked over to greet her granddaughter with a hug. "It's been so long since we have seen you, Kei."

Kei smiled, returning her carrying grandmother's hug. "I've missed you guys… the city has really changed a lot since…" She sighed, not wanting to think about her parent's passing. Sure, she did have family to live with back in Republic City, but she had other plans in mind. She had been living her aunt and uncle for the past four years since her father had died when she was fourteen, but now she wanted to leave the city and do what she had vowed to do when her mom had passed away. "Well… it's just changed a lot…"

The water tribe women nodded, understanding the teenager wanting to avoid the subject. She ushered to young girl into the kitchen, asking her to join them at the table for some tea, which Kei had accepting since she had always loved tea. Kei smiled when Senna had brought her tea to her, recognizing it as both her and her mother's favorite.

Outside, they could hear the strong winds of the snow storm, signaling that the storm had arrived. Kei's grandfather, Tonraq, had allowed her polar bear dog to come inside the hut since it was house trained. It instantly made its way into the kitchen to be with its owner because he was so attached to Kei. She pet the white furred creature in between the ears.

Tonraq had now joined the two of them at the table, sitting next to his wife.

Senna looked over at Kei as she watched the teenager use her own bending ability to warm up her tea. Kei had always preferred her food or tea to be very hot, not mattering what it was. She guessed that was part of her being a fire bender. "So brings you all the way down here, Kei?" she asked her granddaughter.

Kei sighed after taking a drink of her tea. She had made a promise to her parents, and this was a promise that she was determined not to break, making it her one goal in life. If she did not succeed in doing so, she would feel like she had failed like her mother had felt when she had her bending taken away temporarily. She felt Tonraq and Senna's eyes on her as they waited for her answer.

"I made a promise to my parents the day mom died… it was a silent promise at the time… then I promise it again to dad before he died…" The fire bender paused, closing her eyes and slightly lifting up the red scarf she had around her neck enough so that it covered her mouth. Then she let the red fabric drop before she continued to speak. "I'm here to tell you two that I am going to find the next Avatar."

Senna and Tonraq sensed all of the determination in her voice, once again seeing their daughter in her. They remembered when Korra was only four and her showing the members of the White Lotus that she was the Avatar. _"I'm the Avatar, you gotta deal with it!"_ she had said to them. The two of them knew that there would be no stopping the determined fire bender girl. Kei had inherited her mother's stubbornness after all.

Kei didn't stop there. "And I am going to be its fire bending teacher."

She was a very skilled fire bender, also learning how to bend lightning from her dad when she was twelve or thirty. She had a plan formulating in her mind as she continued to tell her plan to her grandparents. Kei knew that the next Avatar would be born as an earth bender, and the Avatar would be around the age six or seven. The sooner she would be able to teach the young Avatar fire, the sooner he or she would be able to move onto the next element, air, and then water after that.

She just had to find the Avatar.

**x.x.x**

**AN: I picked Bolin and Asami for Kei's aunt and uncle. I actually started to like that pairing when he helped her fight her father in the finale. Sweet. ^^**

**I hope you guys liked the first chapter!**


	2. Book One: Fire: Welcome Home

**AN: I'm going to hurry up and type a few paragraphs to this before I actually decide to go to sleep. My brain normally works better at night for some reason. I find it kind of weird. But that is why I normal begin to type new chapters at night.**

**Enjoy. ^^**

**x.x.x**

For the couple of days she would be staying in the Southern Water Tribe, Kei stayed in the cabin her parents had stay in when she was born. Being in her parents temporary home nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she had been able to think about her parents without crying for some time now, but she knew that the heart wrenching feeling that she felt when she thought of them would never leave her, no matter what she did.

She lay on her parent's old bed, her arms behind her head and she stared up at the ceiling. She had used her bending to light the old fire place in the living room to warm up the abandoned cabin, though, being a fire bender, she usually felt warm no matter the temperature. She closed her eyes, praying to the spirits that she would be able to find and train the next Avatar for her parents. She knew that she would have to find someone who would be able to teach the bender air and water. The hardest part would be teaching the Avatar water because she did not know a water bender who would be able to. Kei had considered her mother's water bending teacher, Katara, but she was getting older every day and she did not want to street the old woman with teaching.

Kei rolled onto her side, her pale hand reaching up once again to touch the red fabric around her neck. She remember the day her father had given it to her just a few days before his unexpected end. He had been a great fire bending teacher to her, and though she did burn a few things down in the process he did not once get mad at her.

She could not stand to be there any longer. She needed to get some fresh air and to clear her head. Kei get up from the bed, walking outside to her pet and petting him on the head. The sky was sunny for a change, partially giving the young fire bender hope that she would do what she was set out to do.

Kei hopped onto her polar bear dog's back and pet the side of his head. "Alright, Nazu, go boy."

The polar bear dog barked excitedly, taking off out of the Southern Water Tribe for a well deserved run. Kei remember when she had first gotten Nazu, he was just a little pup. He had been born from her mother's pet polar beat dog, Naga. She instantly picked one that she wanted to keep, begging her parents to let her keep the new born pup.

Kei made Nazu stop on an icy cliff, which the white furred creature laid down in the cold snow once she got off of his back. The teenager walked to the edge and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on top as she watched the sun begin to set into the icy water. She let out a long sigh, wishing that for the moment her mind would focus on something else than finding the new Avatar, but she was too focused on fulfilling her promise to her deceased parents. She had been told that she had taken on her father's determination, and her uncle told her that was a great trait to get from him. She knew she had her mother's stubbornness, plus she was also a hot head like her mom had been. For once, remembering them made her smile instead of feeling like she was on the verge of crying.

She remembered the story her mom had told her when she was told that her air bending training was going to be put on hold for problems going on in Republic City. Korra had told her that everyone had told her to stay down at the compound in the south pole, but there was Katara who told her that her destiny was in Republic City, and so the water bender born Avatar left for the city.

Now, Kei felt like that was what she had to do. She felt the sudden yearn to return to Republic City, and that was what she would do the next day.

Kei dreaded the long trips in between Republic City and the south pole. They were just too long for her liking, normally lasting up to two days at the least. But it felt good to be back in town – she had missed the city even though her visit in the southern tribe was not very long. It was good to be home.

She placed her hand over her stomach when she heard it growl, not sure when the last time she had eaten was. It had probably been a few hours when she had stopped in a small town a few hundred miles outside of the city for breakfast. Now it was almost four in the afternoon and she was starving. Kei stopped at one of those food stands that were scattered around the city, buying some food for both her and Nazu.

After eating, she lead her polar bear dog through the crowded city, making sure not to run into an pedestrians as she made her way to where she lived with the rest of her family. They had moved into her aunt's old home that she had grown up in, living a life of luxury until the anti-bending revolution when her dad had been discovered as a member of the Equalists. She remembered her father's reaction to his brother dating his ex-girlfriend, he was a bit surprised at it, but he got used to it, glad to see his brother happily with someone.

She had been traveling all day and was looking forward to a good nap or so; it was well deserved. Kei waved at a few people as she passed by them. She had lived in the city since she was ten months old, making friends with some of Republic City's residents, and she occasionally worked to help some of the shop and restaurant owners since she was twelve. It was a nice way to get away from her fire bending training.

The young fire bender was about to enter the outer end of the large city when something caught her eye: someone flying through the air and landing behind a building with what sounded like a bone crushing thud that made her flinch. Kei looked over in the direction she saw the person flying from, only to find some younger kids bullying a kid who was much younger than they were. She guessed the older kids were about twelve or thirteen, and the one they were harassing half their age.

The golden eyed teenager stood just outside the alley as she watched the encounter. By the comments being made by the old kids, Kei figured that the little one was an earth bender and was the one who had through the anonymous person into the air with earth bending. She figured she should help the young earth bending child, so what was stopping her? She blinked and then the little kid was gone from the alley, the two kids that had been with the earth bender were holding their arms in pain, both being distracted by scorch marks.

Wait… earth bender… the scorch marks…

Kei mentally slapped herself. Her instincts telling her that the child was the new Avatar, and she had let him slip right past her.

When she arrived at her aunt and uncle's home, she was immediately greeted by her young cousin, Mika. She smiled, hugging the nine year old when she ran up to her and hugged one of her legs. Mika was small for her age, being born about a month premature, still she very smart for her age and she had a bubbly personality that made everyone love her on first meeting.

Kei ruffled her cousin's long black hair. "Hey, kiddo. Are you mom and dad home?"

Mika frowned and shook her head, then she proceeded by folding her arms over her chest. "No, they left me here with the old lady again."

Kei chuckled. The old lady. That was what Mika had nicknamed the elderly woman her mom and dad hired to watch her when they would go out. She had not bothered to learn her name, and Mika was not exactly fond of the old lady because she claimed she was old enough to stay home alone without the need for a baby sitter, enough though she had just recently turned nine years old.

Mika reached up to her older cousin, in her hands there were a few hair pieces that she had just pulled out of her pocket. "Will you braid my hair, Kk?" She frowned again. "The stupid old lady won't do it." The fire bending teenager nodded, ushering her cousin back into the house.

**x.x.x**

**AN: Kk – Mika's nickname to Kei. And in case you guys were wondering, Kei's name is pronounced like the letter K. Pretty simple name.**


	3. Book One: Fire: First Meeting

**AN: I'm excited. I have an anime convention in a month! :D I'm going to be cosplaying Korra though the costume probably will not be done by then. I still need a few things… hair dye being one of them.**

**And I just did some more research on Legend of Korra… I found out some pretty awesome news for my fire bending loving self. Zuko's alive! :D I hope he is going to be in the next season! He must! I miss Zuko… so much. He was my favorite in the first series.**

**Okay, that is enough of my Zuko fan girl monologue. X'D**

**x.x.x**

The next day, Kei sat in the park in most visited park in Republic City, hoping to the spirits that she would be able to find the kid from yesterday. She also hoped that she was not imagining things yesterday and that the young boy was the next Avatar. If he was, then that would bring her just one step closer to achieving her goal, and fulfilling the promise that she had made to her parents. Next, she would teach him fire bending, but only after he had mastered the first element: earth. She sighed, knowing that she would only get to train the young bender if the first element had been mastered.

She leaned against Nazu, who was sleeping in the shade of the tree they were sitting under, though some light from the sun leaked in through the gaps between the leaves. She knew that having her mind constantly set on something without break wasn't healthy, Master Katara had told her while she was out on her recent trip to the south pole. Kei was surprised that the elderly water bender was still alive, seeing as she had reached triple digits a few years ago, yet she still respected the judgment of her mother's water bending teacher. However, Kei was set on her own path, not willing to let anyone else's opinions or concerns for her stop her.

Kei adored the fact that though she was eighteen years old, she sometimes gave off an innocent and helpless façade. It was a way that she manipulated her opponents if she were to get into a brawl in the city, or wherever she went for that matter. She never got the chance to travel much growing up, but now she was traveling around the world almost non-stop in search for the next Avatar, so mostly when she were to come into a new town or city, nearly no one knew who she was. Then there were the thugs who liked to mug and pick a fight with anyone, though they often targeted easy people such as elders and women. She would put up an act, pretending to be just a helpless non-bender, and then she would attack, catching them off guard with her fire and lightning bending. She knew how to take care of herself. She was the Avatar's daughter after all.

The fire bender watched as people entered and exited the park; couples cuddled on benches and kids played on the newly added playground and some raced toy boats in the stream, but they normally did not last long, sinking into the stream's shallow water in the matter of seconds, much to the children's disliking.

She reached over into the bag that was strapped to Nazu, pulling out a bag of bread. She pulled out a piece of bread, picking off pieces and feeding them to the turtle ducks. Kei always liked those hybrid animals, and she would occasionally try to sneak one home when she was younger because she had wanted one as a pet.

Before she got too wrapped up in her own thoughts again, she felt her polar bear dog stir, wakening from his nap. His attention was caught of a figure that had been watching them from the bushes for quite some time now. Kei looked over once she heard the bushes move, and walked over there. The kid from the day before, who she was suspecting to be the new Avatar, popped up from the plant, startling her from the unexpected appearance.

"Hey, you're that lady I saw yesterday," the young child said, smiling brightly and excitedly. He looked around the age of seven, probably just recently reaching that age. The young boy held out his hand to Kei. "I'm Riku. Nice to meet ya!"

Kei stared down at the small boy before she shook his hand. "My name is Kei," she said firmly, yet smiling while she told her name to the earth bending child, whose eyes instantly lit up with amazement at the saying of her name.

His smile grew wider on his face. "Whoa, your mom was Avatar Korra, right?"

Kei laughed lightly as Riku's excitement, but she nodded in response to his question. "Yeah, she was." She sighed, still not happy about now having to speak about her mother in past tense. Then, she raised an eye brow. "How did you know?"

"She told me." With that being said, Riku began to tell the fire bender about the dreams he had been having involving the spirit world and seeing the spirit of the past Avatar time and time again. After he had told her about the spirit, he began to talk a bit quieter, as if to tell a secret. "She told me that my fire bending teacher was looking for me, and a few days ago she finally told me who it was going to be, so… I've been looking for you like you have been looking for me."

"So, you're the Avatar?" Kei's voice was quiet as well since she wanted to avoid any ease droppers.

Riku nodded. "Yeah, but I don't want to be locked in somewhere while I learn the other elements… My mom and dad don't want that either, so that haven't told anyone yet."

_Nice parents,_ Kei thought, understanding what the newly found Avatar was saying. She remembered Korra telling her about once she was discovered to be the Avatar, she had taken her and locked her inside a compound a few days after her discovery. She understood why both he and his parents would not want that to happen to him. According to her mother, it was not that pleasant to be locked up her whole life from about when she was three or four to when she was seventeen.

She was more than willing to be the new Avatar's fire bending teacher, after all, that was a part of the promise she had made.

The earth bending born Avatar continued on; in a way, it looked as if he had yet to pause and take a breath. He was very talkative, then again, a lot of young children were. "So, we decided that instead of being taught by the masters and me having to be locked up, I could just find my own teachers to teach me. Doesn't that sound good?" He clapped his hands, pleased with the plan he and his parents had come up with.

Kei smiled, ruffling the child's think black hair. "Yeah, it does."

Riku quickly grabbed her hand after she spoke, starting to drag her along with him out of the park. Nazu saw his owner leaving and followed right after them. "Come on, then. I'm taking you to my house. My mom and dad will want to know who is going to be my fire bending teacher."

**o.o.o**

Riku's house was a few blocks away in down town Republic City, which wasn't really the best part of the city. However, they had a relatively decent apartment when compared to the other apartments surrounding it. When they arrived at the apartments, Riku's father was gone at work, while his mother, who Kei guessed to be around the age of twenty eight was relaxing in the living room, reading a novel.

Riku quickly ran over to his mother and sat next to her on the couch, obviously excited to tell his mother that he had found one of his teachers. "Mom, I found my fire bending teacher." That was the first thing that he had said, making his mother look up from her book almost immediately, curious to meet her son's first teacher.

His mother looked up, looking right at Kei and observing her for a few moments, probably judging by her appearance whether she would be a suitable trainer for Riku. There really wasn't much to her because her appearance was simple. She wore her dark brown hair down, though she did wear it in as a loose pony tail on rare occasion. Her golden eyes were strong, full of passion and her determination. Her clothing was simple as well, consisting of a dark gray fleece jacket, black pants and dark brown boots, ending with the signature accessory: her father's scarf.

Riku's mother looked at her son after he was done telling her where he had found Kei, and she was not too pleased that he had simply found her in the park. She wanted him to have a very skilled teacher, and in her opinion the park was not the place to find one. "What makes you think she would be a good teacher for you, Riku?"

The little Avatar smiled. "Korra told me. That's her daughter." Riku pointed over to Kei, who waved nervously as his mother.

His mother did remember when she was just a child in Republic City, seeing the newly wedded couple – Korra and Mako – arriving back in the large city from the Southern Water Tribe after a long leave of absence, much to the council's disapproval. She also faintly remembered seeing the two of them with a child every now and then.

Finally, the woman smiled. "Nice to meet you, I am Yuki, and you are?" As she spoke, she motioned to a chair a few feet from the couch that she and Riku were sitting in.

Kei sat in the chair before she answered Yuki's question. "My name is Kei." She paused to smile at her, showing her kindness since it appeared that she had to get this woman's approval to teach Riku fire bending. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Alright then," Yuki began. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself."

**x.x.x**

**AN: Sorry, I know that this isn't a good place to end a chapter, but I want to stop here for the next chapter. You will really get to know Kei in the next chapter.**


	4. Book One: Fire: Back Story

**AN: I realized how much I made Riku like my little brother. XD **

**Okay, so this chapter is going to have a bunch of flashbacks to Kei's life. Some of them may be sad, so it's just a warning. You will really get to know Kei's character in this chapter. :D I'm trying to mix both Korra and Mako's personalities into her. **

**Enjoy, guys. ^^**

**x.x.x**

Riku's mother, Yuki, had the habit of wanting to get to know whoever her son would be working with, and since Kei were going to be his fire bending teacher, she wanted to learn more about the young fire bender. She had a list already made in her brain, going through and deciding on which ones were the best to ask his first trainer for her son's Avatar training.

Kei thought for a moment, thinking of the best place for her to begin… why not start from the very beginning? She had nothing to hide. She took a breath before beginning. "I was born in the Southern Water Tribe. I know it's a weird place considering I am a fire bender, but my mom and dad went back there after they found out they were expecting me. They ended up living in the south pole for almost two years, taking a long leave from Republic City."

Kei could actually remember her childhood very well, even the earlier parts of it, including some of her life as a new born and as a toddler. Compared to her parents, her childhood was on the good side, at least until she turned ten.

Her gaze went downward as she folded her hands in her lap. "My parents made sure my child hood wouldn't be like theirs, even though I didn't see them as much as I would have liked to, so I would stay at the air temple island in the bay while they were at their council sessions. My dad doted on me a lot, but I understand why now. He told me that when he was eight, he witnessed his parents be cut down by a fire bender, and he pretty much raised my uncle since they were just kids. He was over protective sometimes. I guess it was because he was worried about me, like any father was, but I think he was really worried about something happening to him and my mom… not wanting the same thing he went through to happen to me…" She paused, and like all the other time when she thought about her father, her hand went up to his scarf that he had given her. It was one of the few things she had left from her parents.

She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on top of them and looking down at the wooden coffee table that sat between her and the two earth benders. This was her weaker side in its work. She quickly became sad when she would think about her parents, flashbacks of the better times before they had died would go through her mind, making her feel vulnerable to not have her parents around to help her. However, there was a good side to the memory of them. It made her more determined to help the newly found Avatar with his fire bending training, and she wanted to help him find his other teachers after wards.

The young fire bender sighed, before she continued on with her life story. She made a small smile appear on her face and she returned to a normal sitting position, looking back at Riku and Yuki. "I think I got enough of freedom as a kid, though I didn't really want to leave uncle's house after my dad left when I was fourteen. I must say, it was fun to watch over my cousin while my aunt and uncle went out. She was only five when I started living with them."

There was a mystery that lingered in Republic City after the loss of the last avatar and her husband, and that was how they died. She remembered her parent's last days too well for her liking. What was weird about their deaths was that they had died the same way, both of them catching a mysterious illness, and even though it took a few days to spread, it killed them off before any one was about to make a cure.

"How did your parents die… if you don't mind my asking." Yuki asked, sipping tea from her cup on the stand next to her side of the couch. By now, Riku had left the room, not wanting to her Kei's sad story.

Kei just shrugged. "All I know is that there was something that got my parents terribly sick. My mother got sick when I was ten, and it took her out in about a week… we even contacted Master Katara, who is the best healer in the world to try and save my mom, but not even she could save her." Again, she lightly gripped her father's scarf as she went on.

**Flash back: 8 Years Ago **

Korra was curled up on the couch in the living room. The heat was on and she was laying under a thick fleece blanket, still shivering as she went through endless cold chills. The twenty eight year old Avatar felt horrible. They had traveled back to the Southern Water tribe, arriving there that morning. They figured Korra's elderly water bending teacher, Katara, might be able to heal Korra out of this strange illness.

Her daughter, Kei, sat by her, a small flame formed in her hand in her attempt to make her mother more comfortable while her father retrieved the healer. She had never seen anyone this sick before and it had her worried for her mother. Korra's parents, Senna and Tonraq, were also trying to make their daughter better, Senna's motherly instincts returning the moment they got to the south pole.

Korra groaned in pain, turning over so that she was now lying on her back. Senna placed a cool towel on her daughter's head.

Kei turned to look over her shoulder, wondering how much longer it would take her father to return with Katara. They got back a couple of minutes later. Mako quickly walked over to his sick wife, gently moving her hair out of his face. Korra smiled lightly at her husband's presence, the sickness suddenly not seeming so bad.

The elderly Katara looked at Korra's mother. "Will you please get me some water, Senna?"

Senna nodded, quickly getting a bucket of water for the elderly healer to heal her daughter. Kei had gotten up from where she was sitting so that Mako would be able to sit by Korra. He gently stroked Korra's cheek, though his warm touch could not calm her shivering. Senna came back into the room, a bucket of water in her arms and she sat it next to the couch. Katara had pulled a chair from the kitchen next to the couch, ready to heal the sick Avatar.

The healer used her water bending ability to lift water out of the bucket and moving some of it over the Avatar's body, trying to heal her of this strange illness. The group in the room watched in silence as Katara did her work. Korra only lay there, her blue eyes closed as she tried to relax, but the pain and agony in her body wouldn't subside, not even for a minute. After what seemed like an eternity, Katara stopped, a frown on her face.

The elder water bender slowly turned to look at the other people in the living room. "I'm sorry… but there is nothing I can do to save her..."

With Katara's words spoken, Mako felt his heart sink. He couldn't lose someone else that he cared about. He saw Senna and Tonraq, holding each other tightly, a few tears falling down Senna's cheeks and Tonraq looking on the verge of tears. Kei stood near by, hugging herself tightly, trying to hold back her own tears. She was so young, and she didn't want to lose her mother so soon.

The next day, Korra had fallen into a coma, and she passed away three days after that.

**Present Time**

This was the first time Kei had talked about the last time she had seen her mother alive. Just the memory of it had her on the verge of tears, and she still tried to hold them back. She pulled her legs back up to her chest, sighing before continuing on.

"My dad changed after my mother's death… He got even more protective of me, as if he wasn't enough already. He would be worried that something would happen to me when he went to his council meetings. He became too paranoid for my liking, but he didn't stop my fire bending training… I wouldn't let him stop, being too eager to learn the element. He told me how much I reminded him of my mom because of that. I was impatient like her, and somewhat rebellious, too… but that side left me after a while…"

Kei tensed at this part, reaching another difficult part in her life story. "When I was fourteen… it happened again. The same illness that took my mother away got my dad. It seemed like it was worse on him, yet it took him the same time it took my mother. We knew Katara wouldn't be able to save him, and the healers in Republic City would not able to either."

The young fire bender looked up, her golden eyes turning serious as she looked at Yuki. "That was when I made a promise. I made it a life goal for me to find the next Avatar and be his fire bending teacher."

Yuki smiled. "You are a very determined young lady, Kei. And I must agree that you are very much like your mother from what I have heard. You will be a wonderful fire bending teacher for Riku. And it seems like your mother agrees. I can think of no one better than you for this.

Kei remembered the fact about the past Avatar always helping to current Avatar. Avatar Roku had helped Aang. Avatar Aang had helped Korra, and now, Korra was helping Riku. She stood up, bowing respectfully to the earth bender in front of her. "Thank you." Her eyes drifted to the clock. It was getting late. "I need to be going now since it's starting to get late. My uncle, aunt and cousin are probably wondering where I am by now. It was nice to meet you."

Kei smiled, feeling her life goal getting closer and closer to being accomplished. She knew Riku would have to master his first element first, though. She could wait, though she was very eager to begin teaching the young Avatar fire bending.

**o.o.o**

Kei was eager, waiting for the day where the young Avatar would take his earth bending test. Almost as soon as she had gotten home, she told them that she had found the Avatar like she had promised her parents. Now she was on her way to Air Temple Island to tell the air bending family, or those who still lived there. The oldest, Jinora, had moved out by the time she was nineteen, now she was twenty eight. Ikki was only a few years younger than Jinora, now at age twenty six, with Meelo almost twenty two. The only ones left on the island were Tenzin, Pema and Rohan (now nineteen).

She mainly wanted to rub her discovering in the air bending master's face for doubting her. Tenzin had told her that she would not find the next Avatar, that he would come after her life time. Kei doubted what he had said since she was so young when Korra had died.

She took the ferry to the small island, being greeted by their sky bison, Oggi, and the family of flying lemurs that the air benders had on the island. It had been a while since she had last visited the island, three weeks at the least when she had told the air bending family about her wanting to find the next Avatar. She would have to be honest, though. She had not expected to find the next Avatar so quickly, and there was a small part of he that feared that she wouldn't find him.

The small island seemed empty for the time being, the family being nowhere in sight. Kei knew she could just return back to the large house she lived in with the rest of her family, but she just invited herself into the household, and it was easy considering they never locked their doors. She eventually found the three of them in the dining room

"Hello, air benders~" Kei said as she walked into the dining room and sat at the only free side of the table. "I have good news!"

Tenzin sighed. "Kei, it's late, shouldn't you be at home?"

Kei rolled her eyes. "It's only six, Tenzin. That's not late at all, and if it was late, I would be able to handle myself." She leaned over the table, snatching a butter rolled from a basket on the large table – air benders never turned down a guest.

Pema, Tenzin's wife, took note of the young fire bender's excitement, though it was obvious. Her reason for being excited must be because of something big. She normally didn't smile as much as she used to, not for the past four years. "What is this good news?"

Kei smiled. "I did it. I found the next Avatar."

**x.x.x**

**AN: Sorry for the wait guys… I've been busy…. Actually… the past few days I have had writer's block so I was pretty much doing nothing but watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra and playing Left 4 Dead. Seriously, last night I had a dream combining the three of those… zombies and Avatar.**

**I finally told you guys how Mako and Korra died so young, but I'm not telling the whole thing. It'll be revealed later on.**


	5. Book One: Fire: Earthbending Test

**AN: I started planning out this chapter before I went to bed, so finally, I actually have a plan for a chapter and I am not just thinking of stuff as I go along. Winging it does not always work.**

**I must say how much I love the fact about the past Avatar being the mentor for the current Avatar. I think it is really sweet.**

**x.x.x**

"_I did it. I found the next Avatar."_

The air bending master looked at the young fire bender, half not believing what she said was true. He was not expecting the next Avatar to be found so soon after the death of the previous Avatar. Normally it would be approximately five to possibly twenty years in between Avatars. When Avatar Aang had died at the age of fifty three, it had been about six years before Korra had been born as his next life.

Kei looked around at the three family members, waiting for them to say something. "Oh, come on, guys. We should be celebrating!" She leaned back, placing her hands against floor of the room.

"What makes you so sure that you found the Avatar?" Tenzin asked.

Kei sighed, not at all surprised by his doubt. "I found him in the park, and he asked me to be his fire bending teacher."

The master shook his head. "That does not mean anything, Kei. You shouldn't get your hopes up if this isn't-" Before Tenzin could continue on, Kei cut him off.

"Mom told him to find me." She sat up properly, folding her arms over her chest. She was beginning to get irritated by his doubting side, so she gave out the proof that told her the young earth bending child was the next Avatar. "He told me that he was having dreams about the past Avatars, mainly my mom… He told me that she was leading him to me, and that I could be his teacher."

"Sound like he already has a pretty strong connection with the Avatar's spiritual side…" Tenzin's son, Rohan, said before taking another bite of his food. He had taken on his father's serious side, however he knew how to let loose once in a while, believing that if you spend too much time on something, it'll make you think too much about it, which in his mind was a bad thing.

There was no where Tenzin would be able to deny what Kei was saying now; all Avatars had a spiritual connection with their past lives, mainly with the Avatar before them, who would be their mentor and assist them in their Avatar journey. The past Avatar would help guide the current Avatar toward who was meant to be their teachers. Though, it was preferred for the Avatar to train with a master, and it was more common, they didn't have to. Korra had been trained by masters who lived in the White Lotus's compound down in the south pole, while Aang had found his teachers on his way to defeat the fire lord in the Hundred Years War.

"I still think we need to contact the members of the White Lotus," Tenzin began. 'The Avatar needs to be trained by masters."

Kei sighed, looking down for a moment before returning her gaze to the air bending master. "I don't think the way you do. The Avatar does not need masters." She paused, bringing up Tenzin's father. "Aang didn't get his Avatar training. At least not the second half of it. The last time I checked, Toph and Zuko had not been masters." Now she folded her arms in front of her on the table, continuing on. "And as for them not reporting him to the White Lotus, they know that he will be taken away from his parents once the White Lotus finds him. They agree that he does not need masters to train him."

Tenzin sighed, knowing that it would be useless to argue with the headstrong fire bender any further about the matter. In fact, it was usually pretty hard to win an argument when Kei was the opponent.

**o.o.o**

Kei had gone to watch the remaining of Riku's earth bending training. She was very impressed. For his young age, he was a very skilled bender. Kei always found entertainment in watching the young Avatar practice. It made her look forward to being able to teach him even more.

Both her and Riku were excited to find out that he had reached the end of his earth bending training and that he would be taking his earth bending test in one week. His earth bending teachers had told him that he was one of the youngest they had ever seen complete their training. He was definitely a great student indeed.

To celebrate the end of his first element training, he and Kei, who had to bring her cousin along since she was watching her, went to a water tribe restaurant that Kei had been to several times with her parents when she was younger. She always loved water tribe food like her mom.

"So what stuff are you going to teach me, Kei?" Riku asked once the waitress left after taking their orders.

Kei laughed lightly under her breath, not wanting to drag too much attention to them since they were still trying to keep the rest of the city from finding out the new Avatar's identity. "First, I am just going to start with the basic, that's what my dad did when he taught me fire bending. He also taught me how to bend lightning."

Riku's face instantly lit up at this. "You can bend lightning, too? Will you teach me?"

As much as Kei wished she would be able to go into the more higher levels of fire bending with him, she knew lightning bending was pretty advanced. They would have to get to that later on. "Maybe after you get all of the fire stuff down, don't worry about it." She reached across the table and ruffled his hair, smiling.

Mika spoke quietly from her spot not to Kei. "It must be fun to be a bender…"

Kei looked down at her cousin, knowing how much Mika wished she was a bender, but instead she was a non-bender like her mother. Kei secretly hoped that Mika was just a late bloomer because of how much her cousin wanted to be a bender. Still, she put on a reassuring smile and put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "You don't have to be a bender to do all of these awesome things, Mika. I've heard stories about some great non-benders in these different wars."

Mika looked up at her cousin, a bit of hope flickering in her green eyes. "Really?"

Kei nodded. "Remember your mom and dad telling you about the anti-bending revolution? Your mom helped a lot in that, and she is a non-bender. There are more non-benders I can name plenty of other non-benders with great skills. I'm sure you'll be one of them some day."

Mika smiled. She loved how even though her cousin had quite the serious side, she knew how to brighten things up. She adjusted how she was sitting in the booth, and hugged Kei lightly. "Thank you, Kk."

Kei smiled at her nickname. "You're welcome."

**o.o.o**

Riku stood in the doorway of the gym at the small earth bending school in Republic City. The last week had passed by in the blink of an eye, and Riku had been practicing her earth bending a lot, wanting so badly to pass his earth bending test so that he may move on to the next element in his Avatar training. He felt butterflies grow in his stomach, and they were quickly multiplying. He felt so nervous that it made him feel sick.

A million question were running through his mind. What if he failed? What is he had to endure more earth bending training? What is he never fully mastered the element?

"I can't do this…" he quietly said to himself.

Kei laughed from behind him, startling him a bit since he was unaware of someone else being in the room. "You know I felt the same way when I had to take my fire bending test. Everyone feels nervous when they take their bending exam."

Riku sat down on one of the steps leading down to the rink where he would be taking his test within the next hour. "But I'm the Avatar. I'm going to have more of these… what if I don't make it?" He hugged his knees to his chest, speaking quietly.

Kei frowned and sat next to him. "You'll make it… I haven't heard of an earth bender as skilled as young… not since Toph was around…"

Riku turned his head a bit so he would be able to look at Kei. "When you took you fire bending test… how did it go…? Tell me about…"

Kei knew that he was just looking for some reassurance, so she had no problem remembering her own bending exam she had to go through four years ago. "I was fourteen… it was a few weeks before I lost my dad… he had been my fire bending teacher, and a good one at that. He also taught me lightning bending…"

**Flash Back: Four Years Ago**

They had traveled back to the south pole for Kei's fire bending test, deciding for the members of the White Lotus to decide whether she had mastered her element or not like they had done for her mother. As the time for her exam came closer, Kei's anxiety continued to grow, her mind only thinking of the test.

"You need to relax, Kei," her father told her. Mako had gotten used to his daughter's behavior when it came to her bending by now because Kei had a dream of becoming a fire bending master.

"I can't dad, what if I mess something up and I have to continue my fire bending training?" Kei asked frantically.

"You're doubting yourself again, Kei…" Mako sighed as he leaned against the wall of the main building in the compound. He watched as she fit in last minute practice before her exam. "You're a strong bender… and you know, too much practice isn't really a good thing."

Kei stopped for a moment, looking over at Mako, raising an eyebrow. "What about all the practice when you, mom and uncle Bolin were on that pro-bending team together? Mom said you guys practiced a lot."

Mako walked down the small amount of steps and over to his daughter. "True, we did, but we didn't practice all the time. Take a break and let yourself rest before you take your test."

Kei shook her head. There were times when she would turn into a complete perfectionist and she would become a bit obsessed with her fire bending, wanting to do everything perfectly. This is also when her rebellious side that she had inherited from her mother would kick in.

Mako, however, didn't stop there though. He put his hand on her shoulders as she looked down at the ground. "Listen, don't worry. You've got this. You're one of the greatest fire benders I have ever seen, which is impressive considering your young age." He paused, unwrapping his red scarf from around his neck and wrapping it around her own. "Here… I want you to have this."

She looked at her father, shocked. She knew how much the scarf meant to him because it had been his father's and it was the last thing he had of his. "But this… are you sure?"

Mako nodded. "For good luck today."

**Present Time**

Riku smiled as Kei told her story about her and her father before she took her fire bending test. It seemed to make his own nervousness disappear. "Wow, you dad sounds like a nice guy… I wish I got the chance to meet him." His voice saddened as he finished his sentence.

Kei, once again, reached her hand up to grab onto the red scarf once again. "Yeah… me, too…"

Before either of the two of them could say anymore, the earth bending masters entered the room, along with Riku's parents. The time for Riku's earth bending test was now here, and so was his anxiety.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," he said, putting his arms over his stomach.

Kei laughed, standing up to make her way over to where the little audience would be. "Relax, you've got this." With that being said, Kei went to join the rest of the group who would be watching along with his parents and the masters.

The young earth bender took a deep breath, putting on the helmet that he needed to wear for the exam to help protect him against possible injury. Then he took his stance in the rink while his opponent did the same. For this test, he would be facing someone almost twice his age, and he had a feeling that he would take it easy on Riku because of his young age, but that didn't mean Riku had to go easy on him. It was just a little earth bending match. That was how Riku was trying to picture it in his mind.

The eldest of the master's stood up, signaling that it was time for the test to begin. His opponent made the first shot, and it Riku had not of been paying attention, the stone disk might have knocked his head off. He quickly dodged, letting his opponent take a few more shots at him, though he was dodging each time. He was only seven, but he was a smart kid, so he waited for the right moment, not attempting to throw one of his own disks at his opponent until the right time came.

Kei watched in awe, though Riku had hardly done anything in the match so far. He was waiting and listening, a good technique for earth benders to use. Listen to the earth before you strike. It was paying off, because Riku was able to take his teenage opponent out with as little attacks as possible. Kei was fascinated by the fighting style the young bender had.

The match continued on slowly for the next few minutes, consisting of the same thing. It finally ended when his opponent became too exhausted to go on anymore and collapsed onto the floor, nearly falling asleep in impact.

One of the earth bending masters stepped forward. "Weakening your opponent. Very useful. However, you do not want to give them too much time to attack."

This made Riku's hope fall.

The master went on. "But, you are a very skilled young bender. You pass."

The hope was back. The doors to the rink opened up, and catching everyone's attention was the members of the White Lotus entering. Their appearance had caught everyone off guard.

The master who had just informed Riku he had passed stepped up to them. "White Lotus, what are you doing here?"

"We are here to tell the identity of the next Avatar," one of the members began. He looked at the young earth bender in front of them all. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Avatar Riku."

**x.x.x**

**AN: I am going to stop there. I haven't slept for the past 23 hours… I need sleep…. DX**

**I must say that I really enjoyed writing the flash back with Kei and Mako. :3**


	6. Book One: Fire: Fire's Definition

**AN: New chapter time! So… they're making us wait until next year for book 2 of Legend of Korra… I don't want to wait! I'm so looking forward to it. I'm mainly excited for the Makorra that will be in the next season, and seeing Mako as a cop (sexy!) XD**

**So… quick advertising. I mentioned my Avatar forum in one of my fanfic author's notes a few stories ago… I have the link on my profile if you want to join and role play with us.**

**I am going to introduce two new characters in this chapter, both OC's that were created by my friend and who gave me permission to use them in this story.**

**x.x.x**

"_It is a pleasure to meet you, Avatar Riku."_

Riku froze at the man's words, the first thing coming to his mind was how they had figured out he was the Avatar, the second thing was how to get himself out of them taking him away to be trained by actual masters. He doubted that telling them that Avatar Korra had led them to his first teacher would work with them. He didn't know what to say now.

Kei tensed up the moment she saw the White Lotus enter the room, and she held her breath when they spoke to the young earth bender, calling him Avatar Riku. She gripped onto the wooden railing that divided the seating for the audience and the rink. She knew what was coming – with his new found discovery, Riku was going to be taken to a compound for his Avatar training, being locked away from the world until the completion of his Avatar training year later, something they were trying to avoid.

The room sat in an uncomfortable silence, no one speaking and it was so quiet that one might be able to hear a pin drop.

Yuki walked from where she was sitting, standing next to her son and finally breaking the silence. "There must be some mistake…" Her voice cracked as she spoke as she was too afraid to have her son taken away, he was too young for that.

The member who spoke before put a hand up. "Actually, it is not. We received information that he is the Avatar."

Kei narrowed her eyes as she watched them. _'Last time I tell Tenzin anything,'_ she thought, not doubting on bit that he had contacted the White Lotus. She mentally slapped himself for actually believing he would not tell the White Lotus about the new Avatar being discovered.

At that moment, she found the seven year old clinging to his mother, refusing to let go of her. Kei jumped over the railing, joining Riku and his mother. There was no way she was going to let her opportunity pass by just like that. She was going to try and fight to be able to teach Riku fire bending. "You can't take him away."

The White Lotus member recognized the fire bender almost immediately, having a few clashes with her in the past. There was an incident where she had caused a small fire in their compound when she was eight, but she was just in the beginning of her fire bending training at the time, and fire can be an unpredictable element at time.

The group's speaker sighed, turning his attention to Kei. "Being the daughter of Avatar Korra, you know that is what we must do. It's a rule."

"Screw the rules!" Kei said, crossing her arms over her chest. Then, she sighed. "Look, hear me out. Since my mom was the Avatar, I did a lot of research on past Avatars and their training. Not all of them were trained by masters. The first handful of Avatars, they were not trained by masters. They got their Avatar training from whoever they could find. Avatar Aang did the same."

The members were shocked at what the fire bender had said. "That is secret history. Only masters are to know that."

Kei laughed. "You forgot I was well on my way to being one a few years ago. I have my way of finding out this only known by the officials." She put her hands on her hips, not taking her eyes off of the White Lotus members that stood in front of her.

The speaker of the group was about to protest again, but was cut off, this time by the young Avatar. "You can't take me away. Kei is meant to be my fire bending teacher. Korra told me." Now he released his grip on his mother, and latched onto Kei, not wanting to be separated from her as they had already made a pretty strong friendship.

The speaker raised an eyebrow, repeating the young boy's words in his mind to make sure he had heard him right. Normally, it would take a few years in Avatar training to have a good connection with the Spirit World. "You are a rare case, young Avatar…" he began, not speaking for the next few moments, once again bringing the room into an uncomfortable silence. "Perhaps we will allow you to be an exception…" His voice trailed off again. He looked at every one in the room before continuing and sighing. "Very well. We will not take him to the compound. However, we do require that he come to the south pole for each of his tests."

Yuki smiled, nodding in agreement with what he was saying. "Yes, absolutely."

The man looked at Kei. "I do want to know where you got the information on the first Avatars, though."

Kei smiled. "My mom told me in the beginning of my fire bending training." She remembered her father having a hard time teaching her in the beginning because he had never been much of a teacher figure in his life, so Kei thought that maybe it was better for her to train with a master. Korra, however, did not think that was needed, and told her about the past Avatars and their training.

The speaker nodded. "There is another condition to allowing the Avatar to stay here..." He watched Kei tilt her head to the side in curiosity. "…And that is that you must assist him in finding the rest of his teachers for his training. Be an escort for him the rest of his training. Be his guardian."

**o.o.o**

A few days had passed before Riku was ready to begin his training for his second element. Kei would be able to teach him in the court yard of the mansion she lived at with the rest of her family. He was excited to begin the next part of his Avatar training.

"You've been teaching me for a while… so why is this coming so hard to me?" Riku asked Kei as they rode through the streets of Republic City on Nazu's back. Riku was having a hard time grasping this new element.

Kei, however, had a good idea as to why the element was difficult for him to master. It was normal for the Avatar to find at least one element difficult for them in their training. "There is usually one of the elements that is hardest for the Avatar to master, and that is the one that least matches their personality. For my mom it was air bending. She wasn't able to air bend until the end of the anti-bending revolution."

Riku remembered Korra telling him that in one of his last visits to the spirit world. "Yeah… didn't her bending get taken away? And then that guy tried to take your dad's bending away, too, and then that's when her air bending began to work?"

Kei smiled. "That's right."

"Did she get her bending back?" Riku asked as Nazu rounded a corner so they were now riding along the bay.

"Yeah, she got it back a few days later actually when they went back to the south pole."

"I've never been there…" He looked up at Kei. "What's it like there?"

"Besides cold… it's actually pretty nice there. You'll see when you go take your fire bending test, and while we're down there, I'll introduce you to some of my family. I'm sure my grandparents will love to see who their daughter was incarnated into." She took one hand off the reigns to ruffle the young boy's hair. "You'll love there when you meet them."

The young Avatar smiled, looking out over Yue Bay, over at the air temple. He had a strong feeling that once he mastered this element, that the small island was going to be the next place for him to learn an element. That was one of the many places of the city he had never gotten to go to. He grew up having protective parents, who grew more protective at the discovering that he was the next Avatar. Now, he would finally be getting some freedom, though he did occasionally sneak out and explore the city, and possibly the world.

Kei sighed silently, thinking back on the second promise she had made to the White Lotus. She was now to follow Riku throughout the rest of his Avatar training: fire, air and water. She was to help him find the rest of his teachers – which she had a few candidates for his air bending teacher. They were stuck with each other from now on. Kei knew that this was big on her part, but she still didn't regret it either way.

She led Nazu to the park in the city, figuring he was beginning to get tired since he had been carrying them all day. Riku hopped off and instantly ran for the pond. "Kei, do you have anything to feed the turtle ducks?"

Kei frowned. "Sorry, not this time."

Riku sat down next to the pond as a girl came up to him and handed him a piece of bread. "Here you go."

The young boy looked up at the girl. She was probably about eighteen years old, like Kei, also having the appearance of a fire bender with pale skin, golden eyes and black hair. "You're pretty," was the first thing Riku said.

The girl laughed. "Thank you."

Kei looked over at the two as she settled Nazu in his spot under a certain tree. She made her way over to them, greeting the cheerful fire nation girl.

The girl smiled, holding out her hand to Kei. "Hello, I'm Himiko."

"Kei." She took her hand and nodded once.

One the other side of the pond sat a bench, with two teenagers, almost identical, sitting on it. One of them, a girl, was staring at them, watching the friendly encounter. The other one, a boy that looked a few years younger, was paying no attention at all. Kei was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the staring. The girl stood up and stretched her arms over her head. "Well, this is boring. Come on, Himiko!" She yelled to the fire nation girl. "You, too, Nikko. We're leaving."

Himiko sighed, waving to Kei and Riku as she went over to the other of her group. As they left, Kei caught of glimpse of the boy's eyes, and they sent a few memories through her mind. Memories of her family when there were four members instead of just the three of them.

Her attention was brought back to reality when she heard the turtle ducks quack as Riku fed them. She sat next to him and ruffled his dark hair. "Hey, how about tomorrow, I teach you about the origins of fire bending?"

As expected, Riku's face lit up, and he went right into questioning. "Was the sun the original fire bender? Or was it an animal like how badgermoles were the original earth benders?"

Kei leaned back, letting herself lay back onto the grass that surrounded the pond. "No, and yes. The original fire benders were the dragons. I wish I could go see them."

Riku's head tilted to the side. "Why not?"

Kei sighed. "Because they're dead… sad, isn't it?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah… I heard stories about the dragons… I have always thought they were cool." His smiled turned into a frown and he hugged his knees to his chest. "I wish fire bending came easier to me…"

"It's an aggressive element, Riku…" She sat up, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "And you're just… not an aggressive person, so I think that is why it is so had for you." She looked towards where the sun was beginning to set. "Most people mark fire as just destruction… It's not." Kei took her hand off of his shoulder and produced a small flame in her hand. "The sun warriors described fire as life… and Avatar Aang said it was like holding a little heartbeat.

Riku stared at the flame for a while. He took a deep breath and reached over, taking it into his hands. "It is." He smiled.

"Yeah. I'll teach you some more tomorrow." She stood up from where she sat. "I need to get you home. Your mom doesn't like it when we are out too late…"

Riku sighed, continuing to hate the curfew that his mother had put on him. He joined Kei as they walked back to where Nazu was now waking up from his nap so that they could go back to his home.

**x.x.x**

**AN: Himiko and Miakoda (the other girl in the group) belong to my friend. Nikko is my newest OC. He'll play a big part later on. **


	7. Author's Note

**Sorry that this isn't an update. I really hate posting author's notes, but I'm telling you guys why I haven't updated in a while. I have lost inspiration for the time being and I have gotten Writer's block again. **

**I have also been busy because my dad wants me to get a job so i have been job hunting and applying for jobs. Another reason is because I ave a convention in a week and I'm trying to get everything done for that.**

**Right now, I am really sick and I have no energy to do anything really. It really sucks. I almost passed out at a convenience store so... yeah.**

**I'll try and update as soon as I can.**


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